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American Scholar of Russian Studies Stephen Cohen: NATO games in Ukraine bring world 5 minutes before nuclear midnighthttp://bellwetherpost.com/2014/10/12/american-scholar-of-russian-studies-stephen-cohen-nato-games-in-ukraine-bring-world-5-minutes-before-nuclear-midnight/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2014/10/12/american-scholar-of-russian-studies-stephen-cohen-nato-games-in-ukraine-bring-world-5-minutes-before-nuclear-midnight/#commentsSun, 12 Oct 2014 02:44:50 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=833]]>In a thought provoking interview on RT, with renound American scholar of Russian studies Stephen Cohen, who is also a professor at New York University and Princeton discusses where the war in eastern Ukraine may lead.

It has now been six months into this roiling conflict that began back in April of this year which has displaced over 1 million people and taken nearly 4,000 lives in the region.

The West and Russia can’t seem to get over their differences, with the tensions between Washington and the Kremlin changing the stakes for the whole world. How far would this confrontation go? Is there another Cold War coming? And finally, will the world once again know the horror of a Nuclear War looming over humanity? RT’s Sophie&Co today asked Stephen Cohen these questions on Friday, October 10th, 2014.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2014/10/12/american-scholar-of-russian-studies-stephen-cohen-nato-games-in-ukraine-bring-world-5-minutes-before-nuclear-midnight/feed/0oligarchy1N.Y. State Citizens Believe in the 2nd Amendment Despite What Governor Cuomo’s “Safe Act” Sayshttp://bellwetherpost.com/2013/02/25/n-y-state-citizens-believe-in-the-2nd-amendment-despite-what-governor-quomos-safe-act-says/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2013/02/25/n-y-state-citizens-believe-in-the-2nd-amendment-despite-what-governor-quomos-safe-act-says/#commentsMon, 25 Feb 2013 22:17:15 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=827]]>This video evidences the gravity of the 2nd Amendment struggle going on in our country but more specifically in the state of New York.

This so-called Safe Act is driving that state toward a state of revolution, civil war, or perhaps secession by the more rural areas. It is driving the gun owners toward a direct conflict with any police who dare try to enforce this unconstitutional abomination. The semantics or word play of the Act are anything but safe.

Many audience members made it clear they would not comply. One man said:

“I get a sense, from the audience here, that there’s not allot of enthusiasm for compliance. So, my question would be, are there prisons being opened up for those of us who won’t comply? are there going to be additional courts, to handle those of us who say ‘No, this is an unconstitutional law’?”

Today New York Daily news reported today that Governor Cuomo has quietly been seeking to raise $5 million to finance an array of television ads promoting his agenda — and he is doing it apart from a secret lobbying outfit that sparked controversy in the past.

In recent weeks, Cuomo has approached his traditional donors, public and private sector unions as well as a host of mega-donors and check-writers from the business elite, including uber-rich liberal activists George Soros, Agnes Gund and Bernard Schwartz, sources said.

The governor, sources said, has also told potential donors he is considering ads to defend his new gun regulations, now increasingly under political attack. Many Republicans, the National Rifle Association and a host of upstate county legislatures are bent on repeal of the gun-reform bill, passed with great fanfare in January.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2013/02/25/n-y-state-citizens-believe-in-the-2nd-amendment-despite-what-governor-quomos-safe-act-says/feed/0oligarchy1Meteor Streaks Over The Skies of Central Russia Causing Damage and Injurieshttp://bellwetherpost.com/2013/02/16/meteor-streaks-over-the-skies-of-central-russia-causing-damage-and-injuries/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2013/02/16/meteor-streaks-over-the-skies-of-central-russia-causing-damage-and-injuries/#commentsSat, 16 Feb 2013 00:10:56 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=815]]>A meteorite traversed across the sky and exploded over central Russia near Chelyabinsk, Russia on Friday February 15, 2013 at 9:30 AM local time. It showered fireballs over a large expanse while causing aerial explosions that damaged buildings, shattered windows and injured 1,200 people. The Interior Ministry said that the meteorite explosions are a very rare spectacle, it also unleashed a sonic boom.

The meteor was traveling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos as it flared across the horizon, leaving in its wake a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away.

The early-morning blast and subsequent shock wave blew out windows on Chelyabinsk’s central Lenin Street, buckled some shop fronts and rattled apartment buildings in the city center.

One piece of meteorite broke through the ice of the Cherbakul Lake near Chelyabinsk, leaving a hole several meters (yards) wide.

According to Russia’s Academy of Sciences the falling celestial body weighed about 10 tonnes and may have been made of iron, entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground.

A wall and roof were badly damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said no environmental threat resulted.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said deaths were reported but 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.

The Emergencies Ministry described Friday’s event as a “meteorite shower in the form of fireballs” and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.

The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass.

The regional governor in Chelyabinsk said the meteorite shower had caused more than $30 million in damage, and the Emergencies Ministry said 300 buildings had been affected.

The energy released when it entered the Earth’s atmosphere was equivalent to a few kilo-tonnes, the power of a small atomic weapon exploding.

The meteorite struck ironically just as asteroid 2012 DA14, a 46 m in diameter object was due to flyby closer to Earth than some of our orbiting satellites at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles). This is nearer to our planet than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.

“This is a record-setting close approach,” says Don Yeomans of NASA‘s Near Earth Object Program at JPL. “Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, we’ve never seen an object this big get so close to Earth.”

Scientists compared this recent meteor over Russia with an incident known as the Tunguska Event of 1908, when a meteorite was thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia breaking windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

Host of Infowars.com, Alex Jones debates the gun control issue with Piers Morgan on CNN this past Monday.

reason that Alex Jones was invited to the Piers Morgan Show was because well over 100,000 signatures were submitted in a petition supporting the deportation of Piers Morgan on the Whitehouse.gov website.

This petition was made due to the CNN hosts controversial remarks about taking guns away weeks ago, in in lieu of the tragic Dec. 14, 2012 massacre in Newtown, Conn., that took the lives of 20 schoolchildren and six teachers and administrators. The mass shooting sparked calls for tighter gun control measures, especially for military-style assault weapons like the ones used in Newtown and in the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting earlier this year.One has to ask.. Is the 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms) in jeopardy? Ever since then gun shops across U.S. continue ringing off the hook. Demand for firearms, ammunition and bulletproof gear has surged.

Governor of New York,Andrew Cuomo (D), already discussed the possibility of a buy-back law for his state and made clear it would be a forced buyback. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that she and other gun control advocates are considering a law that would create a program to purchase weapons from gun owners, a proposal that could be compulsory. On December 19th, 2012 US President Barack Obama called for “concrete proposals” on gun control by the end of January, saying “words need to lead to action”. In remarks at the White House, Mr Obama said Vice-President Joe Biden would lead an exploration of options.

In a petition launched this past Wednesday on the White House’s “We the People” Web page may increase pressure on President Barack Obama as his administration considers using executive orders to institute nationwide gun-control measures.

“The president is going to act,” Biden said, seated next to Attorney General Eric Holder, before meeting with victims of gun violence and gun-safety groups this Wednesday. Groups represented included Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Arizona for Gun Safety and the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus.

Biden referred to an “executive order, executive action that can be taken,” before noting that “we haven’t decided what that is yet.”

Australia implemented a mandatory buyback program in 1996 following a mass shooting. “The law banned semiautomatic and automatic rifles and shotguns and put in place a mandatory buy-back program for newly banned weapons,” USA Today recalls. “The buyback led to the destruction of 650,000 guns.”

Some liberal activists want the policy imitated here. “That would be like destroying 50 million guns in America today,” the Center for American Progress’ Matt Miller wrote after noting that Australia eliminated 20 percent of the weapons in the country.

Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States from March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809. Below are some very fitting Jeffersonian quotes that reveal the gravity of what is being discussed when the logistics of the 2nd Amendment ever comes into question.

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” “The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”

This past Wednesday Congressman Ron Paul of Texas gave his farewell speech to Congress with heavy words of what is needed to revitalize our liberties as men and women for freedom. At the same time the stock market has been contracting throughout the month with many financial analysts speculating a stock market crash, or at the very least a minor market correction. The latter possibility could surpass the 2008 recession market correction where many people lost 30% of their 401k’s and portfolios. With European austerity protests and public disputes over how to handle Greece becoming more volatile, the threat of tax hikes (fiscal cliff) under the Obama administration on dividends and capital gains further strangling the middle class, the question of whether the Fed is actually doing the U.S. a service with QE3? and the recent news that 40 states now have filed for secession from the Union has to make you wonder what has brought us to this point? Ron Paul’s farewell speech reveals the state of the crisis we face pretty clearly.

Ron Paul said this in reference to the liberties our founding fathers warned us of losing.

“After over 100 years we face a society quite different from the one that was intended by the Founders. In many ways their efforts to protect future generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed. Skeptics, at the time the Constitution was written in 1787, warned us of today’s possible outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion of our liberties and the reassurance our great abundance gave us, allowed the process to evolve into the dangerous period in which we now live.”

Today we face a dependency on government largesse for almost every need. Our liberties are restricted and government operates outside the rule of law, protecting and rewarding those who buy or coerce government into satisfying their demands. Here are a few examples:

The economy is overregulated, overtaxed and grossly distorted by a deeply flawed monetary system.

Debt is growing exponentially.

The Patriot Act and FISA legislation passed without much debate have resulted in a steady erosion of our 4th Amendment rights.

Tragically our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression, with no complaints from the American people.

The drone warfare we are pursuing worldwide is destined to end badly for us as the hatred builds for innocent lives lost and the international laws flaunted. Once we are financially weakened and militarily challenged, there will be a lot resentment thrown our way.

It’s now the law of the land that the military can arrest American citizens, hold them indefinitely, without charges or a trial.

Rampant hostility toward free trade is supported by a large number in Washington.

Central economic planning through monetary policy, regulations and legislative mandates has been an acceptable policy.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/11/15/ron-paul-bids-farwell-to-congress-in-a-powerful-speech-for-liberty/feed/1oligarchy1Ron PaulPatience Wearing Thin In The Wake of Superstorm Sandyhttp://bellwetherpost.com/2012/11/02/patience-wearing-thin-in-the-wake-of-superstorm-sandy/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/11/02/patience-wearing-thin-in-the-wake-of-superstorm-sandy/#commentsFri, 02 Nov 2012 22:18:56 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=777]]>Now into day five, Friday of the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy’s direct hit on the Northeastern United States and still millions are without power.The system was so large, its tropical storm force winds (39-73mph) went almost 1000 miles from its center. From its origins in the Caribbean as Tropical Depression 18, on October22 to Sandy covering not only the Eastern seaboard but reaching inland to the Great Lakes with reports of 15 to 20-foot waves on Lake Michigan only seven days later. Sandy may go down as the fourth costliest storm in U.S. History with, damage estimates totaling 50 billion dollars.

A satellite picture of Superstorm Sandy on October 28th, just 24 hours before its fateful landfall on October 29th, 2012 when it marched ashore near Atlantic City New Jersey with winds of 90mph.

An estimated 4.1 million households and businesses

remained without power across the Northeast — an estimated 530,000 of them in New York — and authorities warned it could take a week or more to restore electricity for many. ABC News reported Con Ed expects to have all power restored in Manhattan by Saturday.

Looking at pictures of the devastation reveals the sheer power of the storms surge in places like Rockaway Beach New York or Atlantic City New Jersey. A record 14 foot surge combined with the new moon tides attributed to the flood damage in parts of Manhattan, New York.

Superstorm Sandy led to power failures in at least 17 states. 95 U.S. deaths are attributed to Sandy with 67 dead in the Caribbean and two confirmed dead in Canada. At least 41 people were killed in New York City. At least 13 people died in New Jersey, and officials said they feared the toll would rise as additional home searches were conducted. Besides New York City and New Jersey other deaths are in:

Maryland: 11

Rest of New York state: 8

Pennsylvania: 7

West Virginia: 6

Connecticut: 4

North Carolina: 2

Puerto Rico: 1

Subways and buses rolled again in some parts of New York City Thursday and mandatory water restrictions were in effect across New Jersey after Sandy.The stock market reopened Wednesday, but normalcy is not back by any stretch of the imagination across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

The storm sparked a fire that took down dozens of homes in Breezy Point, Queens. Mayor Bloomberg said more than 80 homes were destroyed by the overnight blaze that hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain on the western edge of the Rockaway peninsula.

Meanwhile with November 6th Presidential Elections around the corner election officials were ordering generators, moving voting locations and figuring out how to transport poll workers displaced from coastal areas as Tuesday’s presidential election became the latest challenge for states whacked by Superstorm Sandy.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York’s trains and subways have been recovering from Superstorm Sandy surprisingly quickly.

Still, frustration is building in the region amid gas lines, food lines, ongoing power outages and even some reports of looting.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/11/02/patience-wearing-thin-in-the-wake-of-superstorm-sandy/feed/0oligarchy1sandy superstormOB-VE180_sandy1_G_20121030195943Washington Institute For New East Policy Suggest how to Instigate a War With Iranhttp://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/27/washington-institute-for-near-east-policy-suggest-how-to-instigate-a-war-with-iran/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/27/washington-institute-for-near-east-policy-suggest-how-to-instigate-a-war-with-iran/#commentsThu, 27 Sep 2012 16:11:52 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=761]]>The interesting aspect about this discussion by the Washington Institute For New East Policy, a Neocon (Globalist) think-tank, is that its primary

Patrick Clawson describes how to go about prompting a War with Iran at a Washington Institute for New East Policy conference.

purpose is not necessarily to debate the current political elements of the Iranian question. They aren’t contemplating the viability, or morality of a war with Iran. Instead, they are attempting to devise strategies by which the government could convince the American public and the world that a war with Iran is the “right thing to do”, even if it means fabricating their own justification.Think tanks like this not only construct policy framework, but they also write the subversive talking points used in the mainstream media that manipulate the masses into acceptance of that framework. In the video above, there is no suggestion that Iran would be left alone if the will of the public leans away from conflict. Instead, Patrick Clawson ,who works frequently with the Council On Foreign Relations openly suggests that a Gulf Of Tonkin style event be engineered (he uses the phrase “covert means”) in order to force a war into being.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/27/washington-institute-for-near-east-policy-suggest-how-to-instigate-a-war-with-iran/feed/4oligarchy1patrick clawsonIsland Dispute Foments Between China and Japanhttp://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/26/island-dispute-foments-between-china-and-japan/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/26/island-dispute-foments-between-china-and-japan/#commentsWed, 26 Sep 2012 20:33:27 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=746]]>An escalating disagreement between China and Japan over a string of islands in the East China Sea continues to spark protest on both sides.

Protests over the islands, known as the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China, grew in Tokyo over the weekend. Japan has bought the islands

Violent anti-Japanese Protests erupt across China.

privately, but China says it is the rightful owner. Japan believes the group of these tiny islands lies just outside Chinese waters, but Beijing draws the border differently. The islands are also near rich fishing grounds and known to contain large oil deposits.

Earlier this past summer, in late July Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei expressed China’s “grave concern” and “strong displeasure” over what he described as the “highly irresponsible remarks” made by Prime Minister Noda.

“If a neighbouring country does something illegal in the vicinity of the Senkaku islands, we will, if need be, send the Self-Defense Forces and deal with this firmly as a nation. But preventive measures and crisis management, including diplomatic solutions, are paramount in order to prevent any such scenario from unfolding.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also reaffirmed China’s

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei

determination to safeguard its territorial sovereignty. He added that the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands have been part of China’s inherent territory since ancient times. Hong also took note of Japan’s willingness to solve the issue through diplomatic efforts, and called on them to make concrete efforts in light of over-all Japan-China relations.

Now today, Wednesday September 26, 2012 Japan‘s main opposition party selects a nationalist leader Shinzo Abe who is tipped by some to become prime minister by the

Analysts believe Abe, 59, could lead the L.D.P. to victory in an election that could be called as early as this November.

year’s end, raising fears of an increase in tensions with China and South Korea over rival territorial claims.

He has said he wants to water down a 1995 statement by the then socialist prime minister, Tomiichi Murayama, apologising for Japan’s wartime aggression, and to withdraw a 1993 apology for its use of Korean women as sex slaves before and during the war.

Hopefully this rhetoric charged island squabble will abate and these two Asian Powers can resolve this matter diplomatically. “I am concerned

that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this, when asked recently about a clash between Japan and China.

“That is not in our strategic interest and clearly would undermine the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific as a whole,” he added.

These uninhabited islets in the East China Sea are “clearly” covered by a 1960 security treaty obligating the United States to come to Japan’s aid if attacked, a top U.S. diplomat says.

]]>http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/26/island-dispute-foments-between-china-and-japan/feed/0oligarchy1china protestsshinzo abe japan nationalistDefense Secretary Leon PanettaOfficial Story on Puzzling California Sulfur Smell Stinkshttp://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/16/official-story-on-puzzling-california-sulfur-smell-stinks/
http://bellwetherpost.com/2012/09/16/official-story-on-puzzling-california-sulfur-smell-stinks/#commentsSun, 16 Sep 2012 00:54:59 +0000http://bellwetherpost.com/?p=710]]>An odd stench occurred over a large expanse (10,000 square miles) of Southern California only days ago on Monday. Those concerned Californian residents, who called in about the malodorous odor mostly described it as being ” a sulfur like”, or “rotten egg smell”. The official response, from authorities on the matter

Earthquake swarm of 250 earthquakes ranging from 4.0-5..5 at the strongest occurred last week on August 26th 2012.The center of the activity is quite concentrated on the fault line that runs through Brawley and the Salton Sea (Salton Buttes) area. This area does have active geothermal prospecting, as well as a history of volcanic eruptions, although it has not occurred during historical time.

initially said it is either a fish die off in the Salton Sea which is responsible for the pervasive smell or overturning of the lake from strong southeast winds blowing across it from recent storms. Fortunately no health issues arose with pungent smell.The Salton Sea is some 150 miles E.S.E. from Los Angeles.

Abbott was part of a research group that collected footage of muddy pits and volcanic gases about 100 miles east on the southern end of the Salton Sea. The area is the home of four buttes that are several hundred feet tall.

The buttes are small volcanoes with an explosive past. Miles below them is a pool of magma that is 15 miles wide. About 8,000 years ago, the buttes erupted, causing magma to flow which cooled into obsidian rock.

The damage from those eruptions was limited to the surrounding area, but if a major earthquake hit along the San Andreas Fault, geologists said there could be trouble.”

However U.S.G.S. geophysical studies of seismic activity, of heat flow in the earth, and of magnetic anomalies in the area around the south end of the Salton Sea all suggest that active igneous and metamorphic processes

It all comes down to the Salton Sea, which lies to the east of San Diego. The Salton Sea lies directly on the San Andreas Fault and covers more than 350 square miles. A big earthquake has hit the lake bed about every 180 years. But when officials started damming the Colorado River to reduce floods downstream (including in the Salton Sea), the moderate earthquakes stopped for the Salton. But seismologists think the damming stopped moderate stress-relieving earthquakes on the Salton. Now, they fear the pressure is building and the area could be as many as 100 years overdue for a mega-quake, measuring 7.5 or larger.

are now going on associated with an intrusive mass that lies below the sedimentary cover. The intrusion under the Salton Sea is thought to be a pluton, an arm or protrusion from a deeply buried molten magma. This intrusion is parallel to the axis of the Salton Trough. It is about 20 miles long by four miles wide, and is at least one to two miles thick. It lies within the upper 10,000 feet of the crust, and possibly as close as 4,000 feet from the surface. It is centered beneath the community of Niland, at the southeast shore of the Sea.

This pluton is acting upon the sedimentary fill, altering the rocks into a low grade metamorphic series under low-temperature/low-pressure metamorphism. Associated with the metamorphism of the rocks, chemical analysis of hot brines brought to the surface by deep thermal wells in the Imperial Valley and Mexico show that active ore formation is probably taking place around the pluton. This involves the concentration of sulfides of iron, lead, zinc and copper.

Previously on July 24th 2012 Lifeguards in Encinitas, California were first to report the strong, pungent odor at about 5 p.m. The odor was described as a gas-like smell rolling in off the ocean.

Soon after,911 was flooded with calls. Residents from the coast all the way to Rancho Bernardo and 4S Ranch reported experiencing the smell. Some complained of headaches and outdoor activities were canceled.

One Del Mar resident who did not want to be identified was inside the library in Cardiff at about 5 p.m. when the gas-like odor filled the entire building with the doors closed.

“There was none when I walked in that door and within 10 minutes, the entire library was filled,” she said.

Eventually, she got in her car and drove to try and get away from the smell. At about 5:30 p.m., the woman parked at San Dieguito County Park and took a photo of what she believes is some kind of aerosol compound she says fell from the sky and coated her car windows.
“I tried to wipe it and it was black and sticky and tried to put my window down and it smeared,” she said. She is convinced it was gas that was dispersing something with an oil component.

Guatemala has evacuated thousands of people after the Fuego volcano started spewing ash and lava.

was continuing to belch forth late in the afternoon near the country’s former capital, Antigua, said Carmen Maria Caballero of the Guatemalan Red Cross.

Volcanologists said powerful eruptions were catapulting burning rocks as high as 1,000m (3,280ft) above the crater and lava was flowing down its slopes.

Local residents reported how the roaring of the volcano shook windows and roofs in nearby villages. Experts say the eruption of Fuego, 50km (31 miles) south-west of Guatemala City, is the biggest since 1999.

Fuego exploded into a series of powerful eruptions outside one of Guatemala’s most famous tourist attractions on Thursday, hurling thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (three kilometers) high, spewing rivers of lava down its flanks.

Guatemala’s head of emergency evacuations, Sergio Cabanas, said the evacuees were ordered to leave some 17 villages around the Volcan del Fuego, which sits about six miles southwest (16 kilometers) from the colonial city of Antigua, home to 45,000 people. The ash was blowing south-southeast and authorities said the tourist center of the country was not currently in danger, although they expected the eruption to last for at least 12 more hours.

Hundreds of cars, trucks and buses, completely blanketed with charcoal grey cash, sped away from the volcano along the a two-lane paved highway toward Guatemala City. Dozens of people crammed into the backs of trucks. Thick clouds of ash reduced visibility to less than 10 feet in the area of sugarcane fields surrounding the volcano. The elderly, women and children filled old school buses and ambulances that carried them from the area.

The agency said lava rolled nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) down slopes billowing with ash around the Volcan del Fuego, a 12,346-foot-high (3,763-meter-high) volcano whose name translates as “Volcano of Fire.”

“A paroxysm of an eruption is taking place, a great volcanic eruption, with strong explosions and columns of ash,” said Gustavo Chicna, a volcanologist with the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. He said cinders spewing from the volcano were settling a half-inch thick in some places and that extremely hot gases were also rolling down the sides of the volcano, which was almost entirely wreathed in ash and smoke. The emergency agency warned that flights through the area could be affected.